Knowledge production, reflexivity, and the use of categories in migration studies: tackling challenges in the field
| Résumé |
Recent debates in migration studies target the non-reflexive use of
categories that derive from nation-state- and ethnicity-centred
epistemologies. However, what a category is and how categorization
works remain undertheorized. Our paper addresses this gap. Through
a qualitative study on experiences of Othering among migrant
descendants in Zurich (CH) and Edinburgh (UK), we scrutinize the
perspectival, political, and performative nature of categories. We
show how the persons informing our study were highly reflexive when
using the category migrant descendant: They contested, negotiated,
and navigated it in multiple ways. Although this specific category
is firmly embedded in the “national order of things”, it ultimately
proved to be inclusive. We argue that reflexivity in the field can
not only create space for the often-muted voices of research
participants, but also helps to overcome important pitfalls that
derive from issues of legitimacy, representation, and power
relations in scientific knowledge production. |
| Mots-clés |
Reflexivity, categorization, knowledge co-production, migrant descendants, post-migration societies, nation-state- and ethnicity-centred epistemologies |
| Citation | Dahinden, J. (2021). Knowledge production, reflexivity, and the use of categories in migration studies: tackling challenges in the field. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 44(4), 535-554. |
| Type | Article de périodique (Anglais) |
| Date de publication | 22-4-2021 |
| Nom du périodique | Ethnic and Racial Studies |
| Volume | 44 |
| Numéro | 4 |
| Pages | 535-554 |
| URL | https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1752926 |
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